A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from withholding funding from New York State and the MTA in retaliation for their refusal to suspend the city’s congestion pricing program.
The decision, issued by U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan, came just one day before Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had warned that the federal government might take “compliance actions” — including delaying approvals or freezing funding for key infrastructure projects in New York.
In court, Liman defended the principle of state autonomy before granting a temporary restraining order, which protects the congestion pricing plan from federal interference through at least June 9. He emphasized that without the order, New York could suffer “irreparable harm,” keeping the tolling initiative alive despite repeated shutdown efforts from Washington.
“Is there going to be rule of law in this country so that people can launch public works projects without the rug being pulled out from under their feet?” Liman asked during the hearing.
The MTA filed a lawsuit in February against Secretary Duffy, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration, following Trump’s directive to halt the tolling of vehicles traveling south of 60th Street in Manhattan, which was scheduled to begin in March.
Since then, several federal-imposed deadlines have passed, while Governor Kathy Hochul and MTA leadership have vowed to maintain the program unless blocked by the courts. Trump and federal officials have continued to criticize the initiative.
During Tuesday’s hearing, MTA attorney Roberta Kaplan warned that the federal government’s shifting stance on congestion pricing amounted to “a recipe for chaos” and would plunge local transit planning into “an eternal fog of uncertainty.”
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber echoed that sentiment after the hearing. “A lot of people are put off by the idea that the federal government is stepping in to tell New York City how to manage its traffic. That seems a little crazy,” he said.
Governor Hochul praised the judge’s decision, calling it “a massive victory for New York commuters.”
“We must invest in our transit infrastructure to prevent it from crumbling,” Hochul said in a statement. “Congestion pricing is the right tool to make that possible.”
Supporters of the tolling program — officially known as the Central Business District Tolling Program — argue it delivers multiple benefits: raising funds for subway and bus upgrades, easing vehicle congestion, and reducing street noise and air pollution. Since its rollout in January, advocates say it has already improved bus speeds and decreased honking complaints.
“This is a very good day for transit riders,” said Danny Pearlstein, policy director at the Riders Alliance. “We’re seeing better bus service, time savings for riders, and crucial funding for accessibility improvements, new train cars, and system reliability.”
Outside the courthouse, elected officials criticized the Trump administration’s actions as a threat to state self-governance.
“New York has the right to govern itself, to enact policies that improve life for its residents, and to make infrastructure decisions in its own interest,” said U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler.
